Grilling outdoors is one of the most popular means of cooking in the United States. Especially during warm months, and even during the cold months of football season, many people can be seen grilling, such as those who engage in “tailgating” at a sporting event such as a football game. Additionally, Americans have a passion for sporting events, enjoy novelty sports items, and enjoy decorating items with a sports motif.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D425,367 directed towards an ornamental design of a barbeque grille shaped like a football, with shelves on either side of the football, which resemble half of a football field.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,533 is directed towards a smoker chamber and a firebox. The smoker chamber defines a smoker interior, which is adapted for receiving food items for smoking, and includes an opening for providing access to the smoker interior. The firebox engages in fluid communication with the smoker interior so that smoke produced within the firebox can flow into the smoker interior for smoking the food items placed therein. Preferably, the firebox is sized and shaped so that it is insertable through the opening and into the smoker interior. In embodiments so configured, the firebox may be placed within the smoker interior, such as during shipping of the smoker grill, thereby allowing components of the grill to be stored and shipped in a container that is smaller than could otherwise be utilized.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,599 is directed towards a self-contained cooker and grill having quadrilateral doors with a separate cooking grate attached to each door. Closure of all doors provides a conventional barbecue type cooker or smoker with a full sized grate and a common area for support of solid fuels. The multiple door cooker allows the operator to vary cooking times and heating of four different cooking surfaces. Each door can be opened independently allowing the operator to access the immediate cooking surface without disrupting the remaining cooking surfaces. An upper grate is provided in a fixed, movable, or rotational arrangement for adaptation to various cooking requirement.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20020134368 is directed towards a barbeque grill capable of being conveniently transported to remote outdoor locations, which is shaped to resemble the design of a toolbox.
There is a need, however, for a football field grille that can satisfy the novelty desire of America's sports fans which closely resembles a football field having goalposts as vents. None of the above prior art references satisfy this need. It would therefore be advantageous if a football field grille existed that when closed, included the additional novelty of having the smoke from the grill travel through mock goalposts.